The Importance and Significance
of RightsA most Beautiful and Eloquent Sermon of
Imam Zainul Abideen (s)
Excerpted from ' RISALAT AL-HUQUQ '(The Treatise Of Rights)

KNOW - God have mercy upon you - that God has rights against you
and that these encompass you in every movement through which you
move, every rest through which you rest, every waystation in
which you reside, every limb which you employ, and every
instrument which you put to work. Some of these rights are
greater and some less.

[A] [1] The greatest of God's rights against you is the right
which He has made incumbent upon you for Himself and which is
the root of all rights, then [2] those which He has made
incumbent upon you in yourself, from your crown to your foot, in
keeping with the diversity of your organs. He has given [3] your
tongue a right against you, [4] your hearing a right against
you, [5] your sight a right against you, [6] your hand a right
against you, [7] your leg a right against you, [8] your stomach
a right against you, [9] and your private part a right against
you. These are the seven organs through which acts (af'al) take
place.

[B] Then He gave your acts rights against you: He gave [10] your
ritual prayer a right against you, [12] your fasting a right
against you, [13] your charity a right against you, [14] your
offering a right against you, and your acts a right against you.

[C] Then these rights extend out from you to others who have
rights against you. The most incumbent of them against you are
the rights toward your leaders (a'imma), then the rights toward
your subjects (ra'iyya), then the rights toward your womb
[relatives] (rahim).

From these rights branch out other rights. [C1] The rights of
your leaders are three: The most incumbent upon you is [15] the
right of him who trains you through authority, then [16] of him
who trains you through knowledge, then [17] of him who trains
you through property.

[C2] The rights of your subjects are three: The most incumbent
upon you is [18] the right of those who are your subjects
through authority, then [19] the right of those who are your
subjects through knowledge for the man of ignorance is the
subject of the man of knowledge then the right of those who are
your subjects through property, such as [20] wives and [21] what
is owned by the right hand.

[C3] The rights of your womb relatives are many; they are
connected to you in the measure of the connection of the womb
relationship. The most incumbent upon you is [22] the right of
your mother, then [23] the right of your father, then [24] the
right of your child, then [25] the right of your brother, then
the next nearest, then the next nearest - the most worthy, then
the next most worthy.

[D] Then there is [26] the right of your master who favours you
[by freeing you from slavery], then [27] the right of the slave
whose favors reach you [by the fact that you free him], then
[28] the right of him who does a kindly act toward you, then
[29] the right of the muezzin who calls you to the ritual
prayer, then [30] the right of the imam who leads the prayer,
then [31] the right of your sitting companion, then [32] the
right of your neighbour, then [33] the right of your companion,
then [34] the right of your partner, then [35] the right of your
property, then the right of him who has a debt he must pay back
to you, then [36] the right of him to whom you owe a debt, then
[37] the right of your associate, then [38] the right of your
adversary who has a claim against you, then [39] the right of
your adversary against whom you have a claim, then [40] the
right of him who asks you for advice, then [41] the right of him
whom you ask for advice, then [42] the right of him who asks
your counsel, then [43] the right of him who counsels you, then
[44] the right of him who is older than you, then [45] the right
of him who is younger than you, then [46] the right of him who
asks from you, then [47] the right of him from whom you ask,
then the right of [48] him who does something evil to you
through word or deed, or [49] him who makes you happy through
word or deed, intentionally or unintentionally, then [50] the
right of the people of your creed, then [51] the right of the
people under your protection, then all rights in the measure of
the causes of the states and the occurrence of events.

Therefore happy is he whom God aids in the rights which He has
made incumbent upon him and whom He gives success therein and
points in the proper direction!

[A. RIGHTS OF GOD AGAINST ONESELF]

[1] The greatest right of God against you is that you worship
Him without associating anything with Him. When you do that with
sincerity (ikhlas), He has made it binding upon Himself to give
you sufficiency in the affair of this world and the next.

[2] The right of your self (nafs) against you is that you employ
it in obeying God; then you deliver to your tongue its right, to
your hearing its right, to your sight its right, to your hand
its right, to your leg its right, to your stomach its right, to
your private part its right, and you seek help from God in all
that.

[3] The right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble
for obscenity, accustom it to good, refrain from any meddling in
which there is nothing to be gained, express kindness to the
people, and speak well concerning them.

[4] The right of hearing is to keep it pure from listening to
backbiting (ghiba) and listening to that to which it is unlawful
to listen.

[5] The right of sight is that you lower it before everything
which is unlawful to you and that you take heed whenever you
look at anything.

[6] The right of your hand is that you stretch it not toward
that which is unlawful to you.

[7] The right of your two legs is that you walk not with them
toward that which is unlawful to you. You have no escape from
standing upon the narrow bridge (al-sirat [over hell]), so you
should see to it that your legs do not slip and cause you to
fall into the Fire.

[8] The right of your stomach is that you make it not into a
container for that which is unlawful to you and you eat no more
than your fill (shib').

[9] The right of your private part (farj) is that you protect it
from fornication and guard it against being looked upon.

[B. RIGHT OF ACTS]

[10] The right of your ritual prayer (salat) is that you know
that it is an arrival before God and that through it you are
standing before Him. When you know that, then you will stand in
the station of him who is lowly, vile, beseeching, trembling,
hopeful, fearful, and abased, and you will magnify Him who is
before you through stillness and dignity. You will approach the
prayer with your heart and you will perform it according to its
bounds and its rights.

[11] The right of the hajj is that you know it is an arrival
before your Lord and a flight to Him from your sins; through it
your repentance is accepted and you perform an obligation made
incumbent upon you by God.

[12] The right of fasting is that you know it is a veil which
God has set up over your tongue, your hearing, your sight, your
stomach, and your private part to protect you from the Fire. If
you abandon the fast, you will have torn God's protective
covering away from yourself.

[13] The right of charity (sadaqa) is that you know it is a
storing away with your Lord and a deposit for which you will
have no need for witnesses. If you deposit it in secret, you
will be more confident of it than if you deposit it in public.
You should know that it repels afflictions and illnesses from
you in this world and it will repel the Fire from you in the
next world.

[14] The right of the offering (hady) is that through it you
desire God and you not desire His creation; through it you
desire only the exposure of your soul to God's mercy and the
deliverance of your spirit on the day you encounter Him.

[C1. RIGHTS OF LEADERS]

[15] The right of the possessor of authority (sultan) is that
you know that God has made you a trial (fitna) for him. God is
testing him through the authority He has given him over you. You
should not expose yourself to his displeasure, for thereby you
cast yourself by your own hands into destruction and become his
partner in his sin when he brings evil down upon you.

[16] The right of the one who trains you (sa'is) through
knowledge is magnifying him, respecting his sessions, listening
well to him, and attending to him with devotion. You should not
raise your voice toward him. You should never answer anyone who
asks him about something, in order that he may be the one who
answers. You should not speak to anyone in his session nor speak
ill of anyone with him. If anyone ever speaks ill of him in your
presence, you should defend him. You should conceal his faults
and make manifest his virtues. You should not sit with him in
enmity or show hostility toward him in friendship. If you do all
of this, God's angels will give witness for you that you went
straight to him and learned his knowledge for God's sake, not
for the sake of the people.

[17] The right of him who trains you through property is that
you should obey him and not disobey him, unless obeying him
would displease God, for there can be no obedience to a creature
when it is disobedience to God.

[C2. RIGHTS OF SUBJECTS]

[18] The right of your subjects through authority is that you
should know that they have been made subjects through their
weakness and your strength. Hence it is incumbent upon you to
act with justice toward them and to be like a compassionate
father toward them. You should forgive them their ignorance and
not hurry them to punishment and you should thank God for the
power over them which He has given to you.

[19] The right of your subjects through knowledge is that you
should know that God made you a caretaker over them only through
the knowledge He has given you and His storehouses which He has
opened up to you. If you do well in teaching the people, not
treating them roughly or annoying them, then God will increase
His bounty toward you. But if you withhold your knowledge from
people or treat them roughly when they seek knowledge from you,
then it will be God's right to deprive you of knowledge and its
splendour and to make you fall from your place in people's
hearts.

[20] The right of your wife (zawja) is that you know that God
has made her a repose and a comfort for you; you should know
that she is God's favour toward you, so you should honour her
and treat her gently. Though her right toward you is more
incumbent, you must treat her with compassion, since she is your
prisoner (asir) whom you feed and clothe. If she is ignorant,
you should pardon her.

[21] The right of your slave (mamluk) is that you should know
that he is the creature of your Lord, the son of your father and
mother, and your flesh and blood. You own him, but you did- not
make him; God made him. You did not create any one of his limbs,
nor do you provide him with his sustenance; on the contrary, God
gives you the sufficiency for that. Then He subjugated him to
you, entrusted him to you, and deposited him with you so that
you may be safeguarded by the good you give to him. So act well
toward him, just as God has acted well toward you. If you
dislike him, replace him, but do not torment a creature of God.
And there is no strength save in God.

[C3. RIGHTS OF WOMB RELATIVES]

[22] The right of your mother is that you know that she carried
you where no one carries anyone, she gave to you of the fruit of
her heart that which no one gives to anyone, and she protected
you with all her organs. She did not care if she went hungry as
long as you ate, if she was thirsty as long as you drank, if she
was naked as long as you were clothed, if she was in the sun as
long as you were in the shade. She gave up sleep for your sake,
she protected you from heat and cold, all in order that you
might belong to her. You will not be able to show her gratitude,
unless through God's help and giving success.

[23] The right of your father is that you know that he is your
root. Without him, you would not be. Whenever you see anything
in yourself which pleases you, know that your father is the root
of its blessing upon you. So praise God and thank Him in that
measure. And there is no strength save in God.

[24] The right of your child is that you should know that he is
from you and will be ascribed to you, through both his good and
his evil, in the immediate affairs of this world. You are
responsible for what has been entrusted to you, such as
educating him in good conduct (husn al-adab), pointing him in
the direction of his Lord, and helping him to obey Him. So act
toward him with the action of one who knows that he will be
rewarded for good doing toward him and punished for evildoing.

[25] The right of your brother is that you know that he is your
hand, your might, and your strength. Take him not as a weapon
with which to disobey God, nor as equipment with which to wrong
God's creatures. Do not neglect to help him against his enemy or
to give him good counsel. If he obeys God, well and good, but if
not, you should honour God more than him. And there is no
strength save in God.

[D. RIGHTS OF OTHERS]

[26] The right of your master (mawla) who has favoured you [by
freeing you from slavery] is that you know that he has spent his
property for you and brought you out of the abasement and
estrangement of bondage to the exaltation and comfort of
freedom. He has freed you from the captivity of possession and
loosened the bonds of slavehood from you. He has brought you out
of prison, given you ownership of yourself, and given you
leisure to worship your Lord. You should know that he is the
closest of God's creatures to you in your life and your death
and that aiding him with your life and what he needs from you is
incumbent upon you. And there is no strength save in God.

[27] The right of the slave (mawla) whom you have favoured [by
freeing him] is that you know that God has made your freeing him
a means of access to Him and a veil against the Fire. Your
immediate reward is to inherit from him-if he does not have any
maternal relatives-as a compensation for the property you have
spent for him, and your ultimate reward is the Garden.

[28] The right of him who does a kindly act (dhu l-ma'ruf)
toward you is that you thank him and mention his kindness; you
reward him with beautiful words and you supplicate for him
sincerely in that which is between you and God. If you do that,
you have thanked him secretly and openly. Then, if you are able
to repay him one day, you repay him.

[29] The right of the muezzin is that you know that he is
reminding you of your Lord, calling you to your good fortune,
and helping you to accomplish what God has made obligatory upon
you. So thank him for that just as you thank one who does good
to you.

[30] The right of your imam in your ritual prayer is that you
know that he has taken on the role of mediator between you and
your Lord. He speaks for you, but you do not speak for him; he
supplicates for you, but you do not supplicate for him. He has
spared you the terror of standing before God. If he performs the
prayer imperfectly, that belongs to him and not to you; but if
he performs it perfectly, you are his partner, and he has no
excellence over you. So protect yourself through him, protect
your prayer through his prayer, and thank him in that measure.

[31] The right of your sitting companion (jalis) is that you
treat him mildly, show fairness toward him while vying with him
in discourse, and do not stand up from sitting with him without
his permission. But it is permissible for him who sits with you
to leave without asking your permission. You should forget his
slips and remember his good qualities, and you should tell
nothing about him but good.

[32] The right of your neighbour (jar) is that you guard him
when he is absent, honour him when he is present, and aid him
when he is wronged. You do not pursue anything of his that is
shameful; if you know of any evil from him, you conceal it. If
you know that he will accept your counsel, you counsel him in
that which is between him and you. You do not forsake him in
difficulty, you release him from his stumble, you forgive his
sin, and you associate with him generously. And there is no
strength save in God.

[33] The right of the companion (sahib) is that you act as his
companion with bounty and in fairness. You honour him as he
honours you and you do not let him be the first to act with
generosity. If he is the first, you repay him. You wish for him
as he wishes for you and you restrain him from any act of
disobedience he might attempt. Be a mercy for him, not a
chastisement. And there is no strength save in God.

[34] The right of the partner (sharik) is that if he should be
absent, you suffice him in his affairs, and if he should be
present, you show regard for him. You make no decision without
his decision and you do nothing on the basis of your own
opinion, but you exchange views with him. You guard his property
for him, and you do not betray him in that of his affair which
is difficult or of little importance, for God's hand is above
the hands of two partners as long as they do not betray each
other. And there is no strength save in God.

[35] The right of your property (mal) is that you take it only
from what is lawful and you spend it only in what is proper.
Through it you should not prefer above yourself those who will
not praise you. You should act with it in obedience to your Lord
and not be miserly with it, lest you fall back into regret and
remorse while suffering the ill consequence. And there is no
strength save in God.

[36] The right of him to whom you owe a debt (al-gharim alladhi
yutalibuka) is that, if you have the means, you pay him back,
and if you are in straitened circumstances, you satisfy him with
good words and you send him away with gentleness.

[37] The right of the associate (khalit) is that you neither
mislead him, nor act dishonestly toward him, nor deceive him,
and you fear God in his affair.

[38] The right of the adversary (khasm) who has a claim against
you is that, if what he claims against you is true, you give
witness to it against yourself. You do not wrong him and you
give him his full due. If what he claims against you is false,
you act with kindness toward him and you show nothing in his
affair other than kindness; you do not displease your Lord in
his affair. And there is no strength save in God.

[39] The right of the adversary against whom you have a claim is
that, if your claim against him is true, you maintain polite
moderation in speaking to him and you do not deny his right. If
your claim is false, you fear God, repent to Him, and abandon
your claim.

[40] The right of him who asks you for advice (mustashir) is
that, if you consider that he has a correct opinion, you advise
him to follow it, and if you do not consider it so, you direct
him to someone who does consider it so.

[41] The right of him whom you ask for advice (mushir) is that
you do not make accusations against him for an opinion which
does not conform to your own opinion. If it conforms to it, you
praise God.

[42] The right of him who asks your counsel (mustansih) is that
you give him your counsel, but you conduct yourself toward him
with compassion and kindness.

[43] The right of your counsellor (nasih) is that you act gently
toward him and give ear to him. If he presents you with the
right course, you praise God, but if he does not agree with you,
you show compassion toward him and make no accusations against
him; you consider him to have made a mistake, and you do not
take him to task for that, unless he should be deserving of
accusation. Then attach no more importance to his affair. And
there is no strength save in God.

[44] The right of him who is older than you (kabir) is that you
show reverence toward him because of his age and you honour him
because he entered Islam before you. You leave off confronting
him in a dispute, you do not precede him in a path, you do not
go ahead of him, and you do not consider him foolish. If he
should act foolishly toward you, you put up with him and you
honour him because of the right of Islam and the respect due to
it.

[45] The right of him who is younger (saghir) is that you show
compassion toward him through teaching him, pardoning him,
covering his faults, kindness toward him, and helping him.

[46] The right of him who asks (sa'il) from you is that you give
to him in the measure of his need.

[47] The right of him from whom you ask is that you accept from
him with gratitude and recognition of his bounty if he gives,
and you accept his excuse if he withholds.

[48] The right of him through whom God makes you happy (surur)
is that you first praise God, then you thank the person.

[49] The right of him who does evil to you is that you pardon
him. But if you know that your pardon will harm him, you defend
yourself. God says, Whosoever defends himself after he has been
wronged - against them there is no way (42:41).

[50] The right of the people of your creed (milla) is harbouring
safety for them, compassion toward them, kindness toward their
evildoer, treating them with friendliness, seeking their
well-being, thanking their good-doer, and keeping harm away from
them. You should love for them what you love for yourself and
dislike for them what you dislike for yourself. Their old men
stand in the place of your father, their youths in the place of
your brothers, their old women in the place of your mother, and
their young ones in the place of your children.

[51] The right of the people under the protection [of Islam] (dhimma)
is that you accept from them what God has accepted from them and
you do no wrong to them as long as they fulfill God's covenant.